Jetstar to charge passengers for using overhead lockers for carry-on bags

Australians are up in arms over Jetstar’s latest move, which will see passengers paying extra for flying with just a carry-on bag. The airline announced it will start charging between $25 and $52 to use overhead lockers on a one-way flight. Starting on the 2nd of February 2027, each booking will only include one personal item that fits under the seat, such as a backpack, handbag, or laptop bag.

Jetstar’s parent company Qantas earlier this year also began slugging passengers more for extra legroom through its new Economy Plus seats, which also offers customers priority boarding and access to overheard lockers first.

Jetstar said the changes aligned the airline with other low-cost carriers around the world. In Europe, the low-cost model is pioneered by carriers like Ryanair, where a ticket just buys a seat and passengers are "forced" to fork out extra for add-ons like overhead cabin luggage and seat selection.

A quick search shows other European airlines that have similar charges for hand luggage are EasyJet, Norwegian Airlines, Transavia, Volotea, Vueling, and Wizzair.

Jetstar said the changes were designed to simplify packing, speed up boarding and reduce delays caused by passengers weighing bags at the gate or competing for overhead locker space, but everyone knows it's just another way for them to extract more money from us.

Jetstar chief executive Stephanie Tully said the changes would help flights depart on time and remove the stress of having bags weighed at the gates then searching for overhead locker space on board.

“Our new carry-on baggage model provides more choice to customers while helping to keep our fares competitive,” she said. “You only pay for what you need — travelling with less means paying less, and you can always add more if you need.

“To make packing easier we’ve decided to remove the 7kg weight limit, so from February, the main thing customers will need to think about is the size of their carry-on.”

Passengers wanting to use the overhead locker space for a larger carry-on suitcase or similar items will have to pay extra, with prices starting from $25 on domestic flights, and as much as $52 for an international flight.

The lowest fee of $25 will apply to flights like Launceston to Sydney one-way, increasing to $39 for Perth-Bali one-way. Those travelling Cairns to Tokyo for example will be charged $52 for an overhead bag. Jetstar noted fees may vary depending on the flights. A check on the Jetstar website found it would cost an extra $82 to carry an overhead bag on a flight from Perth to Tokyo on the 6th of February 2027.

Jetstar has tried to sweeten the deal by giving customers who pay for “priority carry-on” early boarding privileges.